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Bones and stones

Posted on: Tuesday, 23 September 2003, 06:00 CDT

Got a bone to pick?

How about the 6-foot-long femur bone of Jobaria, an African plant- eating dinosaur?

"The real bone weighs about 600 pounds," said Wendy Taylor of the Field Museum in Chicago, explaining why she's brining a replica to Springfield this weekend.

Taylor will display the Jobaria bone and other dinosaur pieces today and Sunday at the Lincoln Orbit Earth and Science Society's annual gem, mineral and fossil show.

The theme of this year's show is "Stones and Bones," and it will take place at the Illinois Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Taylor's dinosaur display will highlight many of Paul Sereno's discoveries from Africa. Sereno is a professor at the University of Chicago and director of the country's largest dinosaur prep lab. He has discovered the bones of nearly two dozen different dinosaur types during his career. Taylor serves as the lab project manager.

Sereno himself won't be in attendance for the weekend event because he recently left for another African expedition to search for more bones.

The main attraction of the university's table will be an approximately 6-foot-tall Velociraptor model, discovered in the 1920s, Taylor said. The Velociraptor was the basis for the dinosaur star of Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park."

"It's really only about a turkey-size dinosaur, but in the movie 'Jurassic Park,' they made it a lot bigger to make it more vicious- looking and exciting," she said.

Utahraptor was discovered during the filming of the first movie, she said. That species is similar to Velociraptor but more true to the size of the dinosaur featured in the movie.

That's just one sneak peek at the wealth of information Taylor will share about the creatures that roamed the Earth millions of years ago.

Taylor earned her doctorate in geology and specializes in invertebrate paleontology (animals without a backbone). During the weekend show, she will lead a fossil dig and talk about some of her own work with fossils of creatures from more recent Illinois history. She also will show a video detailing the dinosaur discovery process.

"It's a long process," she said. "It takes many, many years" to get from the expedition site to the scientific paper that describes the dinosaur.

It begins with looking at maps, pinpointing areas where there likely will be bones, studying the route and packing needed supplies, such as dehydrated food. A container of equipment is sent two months ahead of the team.

When the team of about 10 to 15 people arrives, the members travel through Africa in SUVs for several days. Then they scout the land.

"They'll be walking around looking for any bone on the surface, and that's how they pinpoint the actual skeletons," she said.

Eventually, the team reunites and compiles information before the excavation process begins. The discovered bones are put into plaster jackets and transported back to the United States by boat, which usually takes two to three months.

When the bones finally arrive at the lab, a number of scientists prepare them, and Sereno reconstructs the dinosaur. A scientist then sculpts the missing pieces based on previous discoveries.

Sereno uses the information to study the big picture of evolution. Taylor said that by studying the way the continents have broken up and moved to their current positions one can understand more about communities of animals and how they have evolved with time.

"It really tells us a lot about the ancient environment," she said.

In addition to the dinosaur collection, the "Stones and Bones" show will feature exhibits from the Illinois State Museum, the Illinois State Geological Survey and the Funk Museum, as well as displays of other mineral collections, including quartz crystals.

The show will include several activities for children, including free rock and mineral identification and games. There also will be several demonstrations, including mineral mounting, wire wrapping, sphere making, geode cracking and bead making.

"We really try to push for having kids there," said Rob Kaleel, co-coordinator for the show and a member of the Lincoln Orbit Earth Science Society.

Other activities include a silent auction, door prizes and booths with minerals, fossils, jewelry and equipment for sale, he said.

The show is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for seniors 65 and older. It is free for Scouts in uniform, 4-H groups and children younger than 12 (with an adult).

For more information visit the Lincoln Orbit Earth Science Society's Web site at www.loess.org.

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